A letter to my daughter on International Women’s Day

Why do we celebrate this day anyway? I can hear you ask that and “haven’t we come far enough?”

Well I’d like you to know that yes, in 2016, we have come a long way.
We can vote, we can play sports, we can be CEOs, we can start and successfully
run our own businesses.

My industry, information technology, is a male-dominated industry, so right away women already stand out. So we
don’t have to fight to get noticed but we’ve always have to have a clear focus on getting noticed for things that impact us specifically.

#WomenInIT

Through my career in IT I have evolved an interest in the inner workings of computers
and software into fixing real world problems for lots of people in lots of industries.
In this way, getting to work in many different environments provides the ultimate diversity and
variety that I know most people want. This is what I love about IT, but I also know it’s not a career choice
considered by enough women.

#PledgeforParity

I also know that across all industries the gap in pay between men and women for the exact same jobs is real and its
too big. If I stand by and don’t do anything to see that change then I’m letting you and your friends down now, for later.

#GirlstotheFront

What I’ve also learned talking to other women, as professionals and as mothers, is that we can’t forget to put
ourselves first when it matters, even if we need to be loud about it sometimes.

So to me, today is important because it’s the day we get together as a group, 50% of the world’s population, and celebrate
our successes and how far we’ve come. And with a loud voice today I tell people I support:

– Setting goals and encouraging more women into information technology careers
– Sharing gender pay data across all industries so we can talk about real solutions for reducing the gap
– Women putting themselves first, professionally and as family members, because we always bring the rest of
the team up with us!